Al Jefferson Growing Increasingly Frustrated

It’s a question of playing time, and not being on the floor during key moments in games. The Salt Lake Tribune investigates: “Al Jefferson sat noticeably on the end of Utah’s bench in the fourth quarter and overtime of a 100-95 loss to the lowly Washington Wizards on Monday night at EnergySolutions Arena. When he stood during timeouts, he did so far from the team huddle, with his hands on his hips. When the buzzer sounded, he was the first off the bench and into the locker room. And when approached by the media following the defeat, he refused to comment, forcefully waving reporters off with his left hand. Yes, it’s rather obvious that Jefferson isn’t a happy camper these days. The Jazz center, and offensive centerpiece in the weeks since the Deron Williams trade, last played on Monday night with 54 seconds remaining in the third period. He spent the rest of the game on the pine as Utah’s younger players, most notably rookie Derrick Favors, led a furious fourth-quarter rally to force the extra session. Coach Tyrone Corbin, when asked if there’s an issue, said that he simply thought the younger players had earned the right to finish. But Jefferson’s reaction told a different story. In the past four games, he has issued three no-comments to reporters, along with being ejected from Saturday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks. ‘The young guys were playing well,’ Corbin said. ‘They played hard and I thought they deserved to be on the floor.’”